Forgotten Group Member Case Study

Submitted By sonu-abc
Words: 1465
Pages: 6

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. Statement of Problem
3. Analysis of Causes
4. Decision Criteria
5. Alternatives
6. Recommended Solution
7. Implementation
8. References

1. Executive Summary

This case is called “Forgotten group member” which gives you a idea how organizing plays a central role in management process. This case gives us an idea what kind of conflicts can come when a team works together for the first time to achieve an objective. This case takes an example of a randomly assigned group of students in a class to work on a group project to imitate Cohen model of “Class room as organization”. This group goes through the process of forming, norming, storming, and performing experiences. All the members in the group have different commitment levels, personalities and expertise. This class group is similar to Informal organization structure that has its own disadvantages of having no formal authority system, susceptible to rumour, carry inaccurate information, breed resistance to change etc. Also, “outsiders”—people who are not included in informal group meetings due to their busy schedule—may not involve in daily activities of group and feel left out. The case describes a similar problem in which a member in the group feels left out from the group and wants to do the project on her own. This defeats the purpose of the course outline which is supposed to be “heavily group oriented”. The solution of this problem could be from an interference from an external source such as professor to make people communicate and sort out their issues. Sometimes external interference is important in such cases if things are not handled within the group members.

2. Statement of the Problem
Primary Problem:
The primary problem here is the related with the informal structure organization in which people who are left out in the group due to their busy schedule may feel less of a part of the organization and feel dissatisfied. Problem also arises due to lack of leadership skills and lack of communication in the group.
Sub Problems:
1. Another problem will be with the attitude of Mike Thanakos who is direction-less and not serious about the work. He needs somebody's push to do things actively and it takes time & energy.
2. Not much coordination among team members especially with Janet.

3. Analysis of Causes
The problem in this case is the lack of leadership skills and communication. There was no proper communication in the group and members in the group are left out while group conducts their informal meetings. This kind of issues at an organizational level leads to the problem of feeling demotivation and disconnected among team members.
As shown in Exhibit 1. It gives a concrete definition of an organization that encompass people to attain a common goal. Some of the common things in Exhibit 1. which should be common in an organization in classes are to be prepared for the class discussions, to complete assignment, to attend sessions, to strive for the higher grade and to take part in class discussions. These are few things to be performed by a class based organization to gain effectively from the exercise. The problem mentioned in this case is lack of leadership skills and managing skills; the responsibilities of the group member are shown in Exhibit 2. which says group member are responsible for regular attendance, informing the group manager in case of any absents, taking part in group discussions, putting the best efforts to get higher grade possible etc. These exhibits shows the responsibilities of the group member and group leader. In this case primary problem arises as there was no team communication among the team members. Janet felt left out and felt demotivated due to this behaviour of the Christine. This kind of situation is very common and can arise in any organization. When team members